The present invention provides a polyethylene glycol derivative comprising a repeat unit having the structure of Formula (I) and a terminal group having the structure of Formula (II). The polyethylene glycol derivative provided by the present invention has good biocompatibility, due to the repeat unit having the structure of Formula (I); and can react with various groups such as amino, (acyl)hydrazino, and aminooxy with a fast reaction rate under mild reaction conditions, due to the o-phthalaldehyde terminal group having the structure of Formula (II). The polyethylene glycol derivative provided by the present invention is mixed with polyethylene glycol having an amino-containing terminal group in an aqueous medium, to rapidly form a chemically cross-linked hydrogel material. The hydrogel material has mild preparation conditions, fast gel-forming speed, high mechanical strength, and good stability. This polyethylene glycol hydrogel can be applied as drug sustained-release carrier, tissue engineering scaffold, etc. in the field of biomedical materials.

A process of stabilizing the activity of an enzyme against inactivation by water weathering are provided including associating one or more polymeric moieties of a polyoxyethylene having a molecular weight of 10,000 Daltons or greater with an enzyme to form a chemically modified enzyme; and dispersing said chemically modified enzyme in a base to form a water-stabilized active coating material.

Bioactive coatings suitable for facilitating removal of a fingerprint when contacting the coating are provided including a base associated with a chemically modified enzyme, and, optionally a first polyoxyethylene present in the base and independent of the enzyme. The coatings are optionally overlayered onto a substrate. Also provided are processes of facilitating fingerprint removal.

A hydrophilic polymer derivative having a cyclic benzylidene acetal linker represented by the following formula (1): ##STR00001##
wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.6 are each independently a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group; R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 are each independently an electron-withdrawing or electron-donating substituent or a hydrogen atom; X.sup.1 is a chemically reactive functional group; P is a hydrophilic polymer; s is 1 or 2, t is 0 or 1, and s+t is 1 or 2; w is an integer of 1 to 8; and Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 are each independently a selected divalent spacer.

A biodegradable polyethylene glycol derivative in which a polyethylene glycol chain is linked by an acetal linker capable of accurately controlling the hydrolysis rate under different pH environments in the living body, and whose division rate into a polyethylene glycol chain of low molecular weight in the living body can be accurately controlled. The biodegradable polyethylene glycol derivative is represented by formula (1) or formula (2) as described.

Bioactive coatings that are stabilized against inactivation by weathering are provided including a base associated with a chemically modified enzyme, and, optionally a first polyoxyethylene present in the base and independent of the enzyme. The coatings are optionally overlayered onto a substrate to form an active coating facilitating the removal of organic stains or organic material from food, insects, or the environment.

Polymeric reagents are provided comprising a moiety of atoms arranged in a specific order, wherein the moiety is positioned between a water-soluble polymer and a reactive group. The polymeric reagents are useful for, among other things, forming polymer-active agent conjugates. Related methods, compositions, preparations, and so forth are also provided.

The present invention relates to tri-functional crosslinking reagents carrying (i) a ligand-reactive group for conjugation to a ligand of interest having at least one binding site on a target glycoprotein receptor, (ii) a hydrazone group for the capturing of oxidized receptor-glycoproteins and (iii) an affinity group selected from azides and aklynes for the detection, isolation and purification of captured glycoproteins; as well as their manufacturing. The invention further provides for improved methods of detecting, identifying and characterizing interactions between ligands and their corresponding target glycoproteins on living cells and in biological fluids. The invention further provides for new uses of catalysts in such methods.

Enzymatically degradable compositions containing biocompatible polymers reactive with glycosaminoglycan compositions having a first glycosaminoglycan compound having a first degree of acetylation and a second glycosaminoglycan compound having a second degree acetylation different than the first degree of acetylation.

A compound having a high tumor accumulation rate, or a salt thereof, and a contrast agent for optical imaging are provided. A compound having at least one specific organic dye covalently bound to polyethylene glycol, or a salt thereof is provided.